40 percent of women age 35 and older have uterine fibroids of a significant size and the fibroid tumours may start in women when they are in their 20s, however most women do not begin to have symptoms until they are in their late 30s or 40s.
Below are 9 facts about fibroid every woman should know
1. Every woman irrespective of her age can have fibroid but they are most common in women between ages 40 to 50.
2. Some of the common symptoms of fibroid include infertility, pelvic pain and pressure, abdominal swelling, pressure on the bladder leading to frequent urination, excessive bleeding and pressure on the bowel leading to constipation and bloating.
3. While there is a possible link between uterine fibroid tumours and estrogen production, no one is still sure why women develop fibroid.
4. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is used to diagnose fibroid and it is also used to determine how fibroids can be treated.
5. Uterine fibroid can be treated with surgery.
6. Over 50% of women with fibroid who get hysterectomies have their ovaries removed, rendering them infertile.
7. Embolization is the safest and simplest way to treat fibroid and embolization is done by starving the fibroid.
8. Uterine Fibroid Embolization has an overall success rate of 94%.
9. One advantage of using the embolization method to treat fibroid instead of the myomectomy is reoccurrence after embolization never occurs unlike myomectomy where fibroids which have been surgically removed often grow back.
Please note the information listed here is not meant to be a substitute for informed discussion between you and your doctor, but can act as a starting point for such a discussion
S.O.Z